Dominica Eyckmans

Dominica Eyckmans started playing the viola at the age of 17, after studies of piano and flute. She studied in Brussels with Erwin Schiffer and Thérèse-Marie Gilissen, in Mons wiht Yves Cortvrint, in Rotterdam with Vladimir Mendelssohn, in Amsterdam with Marjolein Dispa-Knaven and again in Brussels with Paul De Clerck, where she also obtained a diploma of fugue and master degree in music theory (class of Raphaël D’Haene). She was assistant-viola-teacher at the Royal Conservatory in Mons (Belgium) in the period from 1995 -1999. Eyckmans performs classical music (mostly chamber music: ‘Ibiscus’ with organist Erwin Van Bogaert, with pianist Frederik Croene, ...) as well as jazz (with Charles Loos and others), improvisation (both acoustical and electro-acoustical) and ‘variété’.
Her main focus currently is contemporary and experimental music (‘LithoPhiola’ with Tony Di Napoli, M&M ensemble Logos, ‘Ensemble ON’, ‘Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles’, ‘Musikfabrik’, ‘Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin’, ‘Champ d’Action’, ‘Ictus’ and others), and has as such performed all over the world and participated in numerous CD recordings. Since 2004 she is also started composing . In 2008 she started ‘Dances with Viola’, a project with sound-engeneer Todor Todoroff wherein she dances and plays the viola at the same time, thus transforming the viola-sounds through the choreografie and with the help of electronica (movement-sensors placed on the body.) She was awarded several prestigious prizes, among others, the prize of "Belgian Vocation Foundation (1995), The Prize "Jadot for Viola" twice (1991, 1995) as well as the Prize "Baron Lambert for Viola" (1999) and the Prize "Colonel Mrs. de Bisschop-Matthijssens" (1992)